Vela Creations is an in-depth resource for off grid living. The site documents our research and experiences, hoping that they might help others interested in pursuing this lifestyle. This blog is designed to document our day to day experiences as we build our new, sustainable homestead. If you are interested in seeing more photos and videos, we have a flickr account at the following url: http://flickr.com/photos/35090117@N05/collections/

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Edward Fitzgerald

"The Wine of Life keeps oozing drop by drop, The Leaves of Life keep falling one by one." - Edward Fitzgerald

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Rabindranath Tagore

"Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven." - Rabindranath Tagore

Friday, August 29, 2014

Khalil Gibran

"If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees." - Khalil Gibran

Town House

Thursday, August 28, 2014

John Keats

"The poetry of the earth is never dead." - John Keats

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

John Burroughs

"I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order." - John Burroughs

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

E. O. Wilson

"When you have seen one ant, one bird, one tree, you have not seen them all." - E. O. Wilson

Monday, August 25, 2014

Toni Morrison

"All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was." - Toni Morrison

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Everything in Nature contains all the powers of Nature. Everything is made of one hidden stuff." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

First day at school


First day at school


Back to school. Leo's now in primary school and Nicky in preschool.




I was a little nervous about Leo going into "big" school, but he wasn't at all. He was super excited and ended up having a great day, of course. He's pretty good at reading and math now, so he breezed through the work side of things, but was still very proud of himself. And he loved playing soccer and hide'n'seek with everyone in break time. He also really liked eating lunch in the cafeteria with the other kids, which is cool, as he doesn't get out until 3, so will no longer be lunching with the rest of the family. After a long day, the two pages of homework were pretty tiring, but he got it done, with a little break in between. Needless to say, he slept very well last night and was much harder to wake up this morning!


Nicky was also thrilled to be starting preschool, but unfortunately something came up and the teacher won't be there until Wednesday. He was disappointed at first, but got over it pretty quickly, especially as he got to use his new colors and such at home. He's been pretending to go to school all day (puts on his bag, gives us a kiss and leaves, then comes back saying he was a good boy!).


It's all kind of a change of pace for us, but we should get used to it pretty quickly.


On a side note, I'm sorry I haven't done a blog in a while. It's been raining almost every single day (finally) and we've gotten little accomplished outside. We've played a lot of games with the kids, as well as getting into some long overdue computer work. We have also been planting seeds and things like prickly pears, as well as preserving the bounty of our thriving garden.


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First day at school

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Ruth St. Denis

"We have the capacity to receive messages from the stars and the songs of the night winds." - Ruth St. Denis

Friday, August 22, 2014

Stephen Gardiner

"Land is the secure ground of home, the sea is like life, the outside, the unknown." - Stephen Gardiner

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Roy Rogers

"What's a butterfly garden without butterflies?" - Roy Rogers

First day at school


First day at school


Back to school. Leo's now in primary school and Nicky in preschool.




I was a little nervous about Leo going into "big" school, but he wasn't at all. He was super excited and ended up having a great day, of course. He's pretty good at reading and math now, so he breezed through the work side of things, but was still very proud of himself. And he loved playing soccer and hide'n'seek with everyone in break time. He also really liked eating lunch in the cafeteria with the other kids, which is cool, as he doesn't get out until 3, so will no longer be lunching with the rest of the family. After a long day, the two pages of homework were pretty tiring, but he got it done, with a little break in between. Needless to say, he slept very well last night and was much harder to wake up this morning!


Nicky was also thrilled to be starting preschool, but unfortunately something came up and the teacher won't be there until Wednesday. He was disappointed at first, but got over it pretty quickly, especially as he got to use his new colors and such at home. He's been pretending to go to school all day (puts on his bag, gives us a kiss and leaves, then comes back saying he was a good boy!).


It's all kind of a change of pace for us, but we should get used to it pretty quickly.


On a side note, I'm sorry I haven't done a blog in a while. It's been raining almost every single day (finally) and we've gotten little accomplished outside. We've played a lot of games with the kids, as well as getting into some long overdue computer work. We have also been planting seeds and things like prickly pears, as well as preserving the bounty of our thriving garden.


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First day at school

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Mountains are earth's undecaying monuments." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Diogenes

"The sun, too, shines into cesspools and is not polluted." - Diogenes

First day at school


First day at school


Back to school. Leo's now in primary school and Nicky in preschool.




I was a little nervous about Leo going into "big" school, but he wasn't at all. He was super excited and ended up having a great day, of course. He's pretty good at reading and math now, so he breezed through the work side of things, but was still very proud of himself. And he loved playing soccer and hide'n'seek with everyone in break time. He also really liked eating lunch in the cafeteria with the other kids, which is cool, as he doesn't get out until 3, so will no longer be lunching with the rest of the family. After a long day, the two pages of homework were pretty tiring, but he got it done, with a little break in between. Needless to say, he slept very well last night and was much harder to wake up this morning!


Nicky was also thrilled to be starting preschool, but unfortunately something came up and the teacher won't be there until Wednesday. He was disappointed at first, but got over it pretty quickly, especially as he got to use his new colors and such at home. He's been pretending to go to school all day (puts on his bag, gives us a kiss and leaves, then comes back saying he was a good boy!).


It's all kind of a change of pace for us, but we should get used to it pretty quickly.


On a side note, I'm sorry I haven't done a blog in a while. It's been raining almost every single day (finally) and we've gotten little accomplished outside. We've played a lot of games with the kids, as well as getting into some long overdue computer work. We have also been planting seeds and things like prickly pears, as well as preserving the bounty of our thriving garden.


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First day at school

Monday, August 18, 2014

John Ford

"I am... a mushroom; On whom the dew of heaven drops now and then." - John Ford

Sunday, August 17, 2014

John Muir

"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Robert Frost

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep." - Robert Frost

Friday, August 15, 2014

H. G. Wells

"Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative." - H. G. Wells

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Vladimir Nabokov

"The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea." - Vladimir Nabokov

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Oliver Cromwell

"Nature can do more than physicians." - Oliver Cromwell

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Heraclitus

"Nature is wont to hide herself." - Heraclitus

Monday, August 11, 2014

Voltaire

"The progress of rivers to the ocean is not so rapid as that of man to error." - Voltaire

August '14

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Euripides

"There is the sky, which is all men's together." - Euripides

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Orison Swett Marden

"The Universe is one great kindergarten for man. Everything that exists has brought with it its own peculiar lesson." - Orison Swett Marden

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Charles Lindbergh

"If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes." - Charles Lindbergh

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Margaret Mead

"We won't have a society if we destroy the environment." - Margaret Mead

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Jacques Yves Cousteau

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." - Jacques Yves Cousteau

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Russell Baker

"Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it." - Russell Baker

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Lord Byron

"I love not man the less, but Nature more." - Lord Byron

Friday, August 1, 2014

Emma Goldman

"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck." - Emma Goldman

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